Chinese Foreign Ministry's Documentation cited false historical facts

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has just published a series of thesis written by various authors under the general theme "Vietnam: The story can not help telling" which presents the history of Sino-Vietnamese relations since ancient times ...(*) Perhaps this might be a gesture that they began to "open" about a subject that has long been regarded as "sensitive" (?). However, much of the information of this document are false or  unhistorical facts only to serve China's eternal purpose of expansionism.   

Everyone knows there are many things still hidden in the ancient history relating  to ethnic origin and relationship between the two neighbouring nations: China and Vietnam due to the main reason that  the Chinese feudalist dynasties had for long adopted  wicked policy "to  burn and loot every historical document and literature" of the Vietnamese nation. So, after the  period of 1.000 years under the Northerners' occupation,  the Vietnamese historians had no way but to consult the Chinese history doccuments  to rewrite their own history. Thus, inevitable distortions and even "vacuums" have yet to find the truth;  and  to decipher the "dark corners" in  the history as above mentioned will be a long way to go. However, thanks to progress in  technique of human history, historical truths have been gradually revealed nowadays. On that basis, the writer of this article would like to make a few preliminary comments on the document of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China as follows.

In his thesis  author Sun Hong Nien  (**)  qouted " Ancient Chinese legend saying that during the Shen Nong time the border of China dad already run down south up to Giao Chi (of today'sVietnam) and they were already went patrolling along this region(!?) This is merely a myth disclosure to manipulate arbitrary despite the historical truth.  

Let us  start with a map of the Wikipedia, which describes the outline of the range of  Lower House of China (equivalent to the Kinh Duong Vuong in the history of Vietnam) was only  the size of a pea-nut or a drop of oil alone! 

It took thousands of years later for the Han ethnic to invade southward ... Then how could they "went petrolling" Giao Chi at that time? Or  maybe, the oil drop suddenly spreaded peacefully into the land of rice cultivation throughout the south of the Yangtze River where  had been already owned by the native people known in the Chinese ancient history as  "Baiyue" who used to be various ethnic tribals or  kingdoms settled down here for at least the same time with the ethnic Han in the north). If we could go to review the "legend" on here to see how it was "fabricated", then we can see the skill of the Han expansionism in distorting historical truth!  Maybe the time has blurred horsemarks of the invaders in the region, but the human imprints are still there despite all the tricks to assimilate of very sinister and cruel rulers over thousands of years BC and AD. Mr Nien "manipulated" his legend like that, but misrepresented the Vietnamese legends by deliberately avoiding to say nothing about "true authentic original owner"  of the lands of the South with the paddy-rice civilization and other archaeological sites as in the line, such as  Bronze Drump,  Stone Axe and Viet (Yue) Language  which have  been recognized as belonging to Hundred Viet's in the South, including Lac Viet and Au Lac known as the Van Lang nation, later Nan Yue and Vietnam today. Even legendary Shen Nong and doctrine Kinh Dich are also being reconsidering whether belonging to the  ethnic Hundred Viet's  or Han (!?).

This document does not mention anything about the process of Chinese fudalist invasion and pushing the Vietnamese nation southward.  Let us see another  map which describes the outline of Nan Yue dynasty by year 111 BC, including all or parts of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan Island and today's North Vietnam  (***). This represents  an objective historical perspective of international historians. This truth not only shows the vitality of the nation of Vietnam but also a witness to reject the so-called "sovereignty since ancient times" for the East  Sea as the Chinese propaganda is trying to disguise from the world.  

The Document of the Chinese Foreign Ministry  also ignored those factors and values of human and literature of the Hundred Viet's that had been long existing  side by side with the ethnic Han since the prehistoric times; the only thing different is that it has been colonized , swap or deprived of during the implementation of  very wicked assimilation scheme of the Northern invaders. These values has really influenced and permeated the culture of  China  and still continue existing in southern and southeastern China despite the discrimination measures by the central government. Today the nation of Vietnam still exists with its own identity after 1.000 years dominated by the Northern fuedalist dynasties  (while for some nations,  under alien domination of a few hundred years, may have "disappered"). Therefore, it is so ridiculous to argue that the Vietnamese had no writen language thus to have to use Chinese letter and history (!?); and more ridiculous to say that  ethnic Han who came from grasslands  to teach the Vietnamese on how to do the paddy-rice cultivation (!?)...   Do not ask the Vietnamese for not to be able to do better under the yoke of such a harsh colonial rule for such long thousands of years when  only the occupants had the right to write history the way they liked ! If the Han nation might unluckily felt in the domination of a foreign enemy for 1.000 years, what could they do? Please Chinese of today, do not get the misfortune of others as "beauty" or "goodness" for yourself . That may be the behavior that they need to learn more!

Regarding the period after the revolution for national liberation, it is regretable that the  document of China's Foreign Ministry  looks at the problems from the view-point of the ancient fuedalists by expecting Vietnamese continue to subdue and tribute... (?). Such an  attitude is extremely outdated and unacceptable! This document not only takes long to lell how the Chinese "enlightened" the Vietnamese during the 1000 years under their occupation, but also requires Vietnam to owe to the Chinese revolution eventhough both sides know well that any assistance and aid from China during that period was mainly motivated by the interests of China! The Chinese leaders knew how they had tried to weaken the Vietnam in  different periods, even "sold out" the interests of the Vietnamese People during various negotiations, especially the Sino-American Shanghai negotiation of 1972, which  created conditions for them to invade the Paracel Islands in 1974 (then under  the Saigon government's control), and  to wage wars destroying Vietnam from both sides of southwest  and northern border in following years.... In other words, it was  China that   most benefitted from the sacrifice of Vietnamamese people during the war time. There are  more stories providing "open secrets" of  people's resentment as both the Vietnamese and Chinese  surely know but  may not want to talk about"   

In our opinion, if and when mentioning about history, they should be told as  complete and true stories. We hope that the authentic historians and people of both countries and of the world should joint this discussion by speaking out the truth considering this a practical work to help resolve the East Sea dispute thoroughly, and by doing so to contribute to maintaining  the regional peace in the long run!

Note :
 (*) Refer to the VNA's Information Source:  Magazine "World Knowledge" under the charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China  14 on 07/16/2011.
( **) Research Fellow at the Center for Research border history and geography, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences  Institute of China.
(***) Book "Shadow of the Dragon: Vietnam's Continuing Struggle with China and the Implicationsfor U.S. Foreign Policy" by Henry J. Kenny Washington: Brassey's, 2002.

Tran Kinh Nghi                   



Chinese Foreign Ministry's Documentation cited false historical facts

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has just published a series of thesis written by various authors under the general theme "Vietnam: The story can not help telling" which presents the history of Sino-Vietnamese relations since ancient times ...(*) Perhaps this might be a gesture that they began to "open" about a subject that has long been regarded as "sensitive" (?). However, much of the information of this document are false or  unhistorical facts only to serve China's eternal purpose of expansionism.   

Everyone knows there are many things still hidden in the ancient history relating  to ethnic origin and relationship between the two neighbouring nations: China and Vietnam due to the main reason that  the Chinese feudalist dynasties had for long adopted  wicked policy "to  burn and loot every historical document and literature" of the Vietnamese nation. So, after the  period of 1.000 years under the Northerners' occupation,  the Vietnamese historians had no way but to consult the Chinese history doccuments  to rewrite their own history. Thus, inevitable distortions and even "vacuums" have yet to find the truth;  and  to decipher the "dark corners" in  the history as above mentioned will be a long way to go. However, thanks to progress in  technique of human history, historical truths have been gradually revealed nowadays. On that basis, the writer of this article would like to make a few preliminary comments on the document of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China as follows.

In his thesis  author Sun Hong Nien  (**)  qouted " Ancient Chinese legend saying that during the Shen Nong time the border of China dad already run down south up to Giao Chi (of today'sVietnam) and they were already went patrolling along this region(!?) This is merely a myth disclosure to manipulate arbitrary despite the historical truth.  

Let us  start with a map of the Wikipedia, which describes the outline of the range of  Lower House of China (equivalent to the Kinh Duong Vuong in the history of Vietnam) was only  the size of a pea-nut or a drop of oil alone! 

It took thousands of years later for the Han ethnic to invade southward ... Then how could they "went petrolling" Giao Chi at that time? Or  maybe, the oil drop suddenly spreaded peacefully into the land of rice cultivation throughout the south of the Yangtze River where  had been already owned by the native people known in the Chinese ancient history as  "Baiyue" who used to be various ethnic tribals or  kingdoms settled down here for at least the same time with the ethnic Han in the north). If we could go to review the "legend" on here to see how it was "fabricated", then we can see the skill of the Han expansionism in distorting historical truth!  Maybe the time has blurred horsemarks of the invaders in the region, but the human imprints are still there despite all the tricks to assimilate of very sinister and cruel rulers over thousands of years BC and AD. Mr Nien "manipulated" his legend like that, but misrepresented the Vietnamese legends by deliberately avoiding to say nothing about "true authentic original owner"  of the lands of the South with the paddy-rice civilization and other archaeological sites as in the line, such as  Bronze Drump,  Stone Axe and Viet (Yue) Language  which have  been recognized as belonging to Hundred Viet's in the South, including Lac Viet and Au Lac known as the Van Lang nation, later Nan Yue and Vietnam today. Even legendary Shen Nong and doctrine Kinh Dich are also being reconsidering whether belonging to the  ethnic Hundred Viet's  or Han (!?).

This document does not mention anything about the process of Chinese fudalist invasion and pushing the Vietnamese nation southward.  Let us see another  map which describes the outline of Nan Yue dynasty by year 111 BC, including all or parts of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan Island and today's North Vietnam  (***). This represents  an objective historical perspective of international historians. This truth not only shows the vitality of the nation of Vietnam but also a witness to reject the so-called "sovereignty since ancient times" for the East  Sea as the Chinese propaganda is trying to disguise from the world.  

The Document of the Chinese Foreign Ministry  also ignored those factors and values of human and literature of the Hundred Viet's that had been long existing  side by side with the ethnic Han since the prehistoric times; the only thing different is that it has been colonized , swap or deprived of during the implementation of  very wicked assimilation scheme of the Northern invaders. These values has really influenced and permeated the culture of  China  and still continue existing in southern and southeastern China despite the discrimination measures by the central government. Today the nation of Vietnam still exists with its own identity after 1.000 years dominated by the Northern fuedalist dynasties  (while for some nations,  under alien domination of a few hundred years, may have "disappered"). Therefore, it is so ridiculous to argue that the Vietnamese had no writen language thus to have to use Chinese letter and history (!?); and more ridiculous to say that  ethnic Han who came from grasslands  to teach the Vietnamese on how to do the paddy-rice cultivation (!?)...   Do not ask the Vietnamese for not to be able to do better under the yoke of such a harsh colonial rule for such long thousands of years when  only the occupants had the right to write history the way they liked ! If the Han nation might unluckily felt in the domination of a foreign enemy for 1.000 years, what could they do? Please Chinese of today, do not get the misfortune of others as "beauty" or "goodness" for yourself . That may be the behavior that they need to learn more!

Regarding the period after the revolution for national liberation, it is regretable that the  document of China's Foreign Ministry  looks at the problems from the view-point of the ancient fuedalists by expecting Vietnamese continue to subdue and tribute... (?). Such an  attitude is extremely outdated and unacceptable! This document not only takes long to lell how the Chinese "enlightened" the Vietnamese during the 1000 years under their occupation, but also requires Vietnam to owe to the Chinese revolution eventhough both sides know well that any assistance and aid from China during that period was mainly motivated by the interests of China! The Chinese leaders knew how they had tried to weaken the Vietnam in  different periods, even "sold out" the interests of the Vietnamese People during various negotiations, especially the Sino-American Shanghai negotiation of 1972, which  created conditions for them to invade the Paracel Islands in 1974 (then under  the Saigon government's control), and  to wage wars destroying Vietnam from both sides of southwest  and northern border in following years.... In other words, it was  China that   most benefitted from the sacrifice of Vietnamamese people during the war time. There are  more stories providing "open secrets" of  people's resentment as both the Vietnamese and Chinese  surely know but  may not want to talk about"   

In our opinion, if and when mentioning about history, they should be told as  complete and true stories. We hope that the authentic historians and people of both countries and of the world should joint this discussion by speaking out the truth considering this a practical work to help resolve the East Sea dispute thoroughly, and by doing so to contribute to maintaining  the regional peace in the long run!

Note :
 (*) Refer to the VNA's Information Source:  Magazine "World Knowledge" under the charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China  14 on 07/16/2011.
( **) Research Fellow at the Center for Research border history and geography, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences  Institute of China.
(***) Book "Shadow of the Dragon: Vietnam's Continuing Struggle with China and the Implicationsfor U.S. Foreign Policy" by Henry J. Kenny Washington: Brassey's, 2002.

Tran Kinh Nghi